The War for Talent

From Barnes & Noble

As every manager knows, whether the economy is up or down, it's ultimately having the right people that makes an organization work. Using examples drawn from the histories of such successful companies as GE, the authors of The War for Talent reveal how companies can gain a competitive advantage by attracting and retaining the best people available.

Publishers Weekly

The consulting firm McKinsey & Co. coined the phrase "War for Talent" several years ago when its surveys revealed a diminishing talent pool. The basic McKinsey principle asserts that employers must adopt innovative recruitment techniques, and the authors offer many examples from companies like the Limited, Enron and Amgen. Among their suggestions: offer mentoring programs; encourage employees to switch departments; and with senior hires, look for "leadership style and values" consistent with "the company's culture." Employers will find this book useful if somewhat dry. McKinsey's name along with extensive publicity will help initial sales, but the boilerplate content may not maintain them. (Oct. 15) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Soundview Executive Book Summaries

The depth and quality of a company's talent pool can determine whether that organization will lead its market and industry, or merely follow competitors that attract better, brighter, more talented people. The authors of The War for Talent write that what distinguishes high-performing companies from merely average performers in this war for talent is not better human-resource processes, but the fundamental belief in the importance of talent, and the actions these organizations take to back up that belief.

Based on surveys of 13,000 executives at more than 120 companies, as well as case studies of 27 leading companies, The War for Talent presents a five-part approach to managing an organization's talent resources. The authors, each a respected authority on recruitment and retention, tell companies how they can win the ongoing war for talent.

Talent is now a critical driver of corporate performance; a company's ability to attract, develop, and retain talent has not ceased to be important in the current slow economy. Managerial talent, in particular, is at the epicenter of the war for talent, and the authors write that the people with the ability to lead a company or division, guide a production team, or supervise a group of workers are the elements that differentiate great companies from merely good ones.

Why the War Will Persist
The authors point to three fundamental forces that are fueling the war for talent:

1. The irreversible shift from the Industrial Age to the Information Age. When the war for talent began in the 1980s with the birth of the Information Age, the importance of hard assets - machines, factories, capital, etc. - declined relative to the importance of intangible assets, such as brands, intellectual capital and talent. As the economy becomes more knowledge-based, the differential value of highly talented people continues to mount.
2. Intensifying demand for high-caliber managerial talent. Companies need managers who can respond effectively to globalization, deregulation and technological advances. Startups and small companies add an additional layer of demand on the talent pool, as venture capitalists increasingly make seasoned managerial talent a prerequisite for investment. While short-term fluctuations in the economy will make the talent market periodically looser, the demand for top managerial talent is still strong, and will continue to be for at least the next two decades.
3. The growing propensity for people to switch from one company to another. When companies downsized in the late 1980s, the traditional covenant that traded job security for loyalty was broken. When, in the 1990s, job opportunities surged and information about those opportunities was suddenly abundant and available via the Internet, old taboos against job-hopping evaporated. It is hard to see what could make employees surrender back to employers the control and responsibility they have assumed over their professional lives and well-being.

Since these structural forces show no signs of abating, the authors write that it is believed that the war for managerial talent will be a defining feature of the business landscape for many years to come.

A New Approach to Talent
The authors write that there are five imperatives on which companies must act, if they are going to win the war for managerial talent and make talent a competitive advantage:

1. Embrace a talent mindset. Leaders in the most successful companies believe building their talent pool is a huge part of their job. They have a passionate belief that great talent is required to achieve any aspirations in business. This talent mindset cannot be relegated to human resources departments - every leader in the company must be committed to hiring and retaining the best and brightest employees possible.
2. Craft a winning employee value proposition. While most companies create a clear, compelling reason why customers should do business with them, few organizations put nearly as much thought into why talented managers should join and stay with them. Company leadership must address people management with the same vigor that it brings to customer management.
3. Rebuild recruiting strategy. It is no longer sufficient (or, in many cases, possible) to simply select great employees from a long list of candidates; companies must go out and find great candidates. Corporate leaders must focus on hiring at multiple levels, identifying intrinsic skills they need, and looking for new faces from new places to bring those skills to their companies.
4. Weave development into the organization. Every company and every leader must develop people to increase their capabilities, since there aren't enough fully developed managers to go around - and since talented people are inclined to leave if they feel they are not growing and stretching.
5. Differentiate and affirm employees. The most successful companies differentiate the pay, opportunities and investments they make in people, rewarding their best performers and developing their middle performers in an effort to improve their efforts.

Why Soundview Likes This Book
The War for Talent clearly and powerfully describes the best ways organizations can attract, train, assess and retain the best people using principles that make sense for both employers and employees. This playbook for human resources managers offers a battle plan that that can strengthen any firm's human capital and help it improve long-term business performance. Copyright (c) 2002 Soundview Executive Book Summaries